This is a Very Strange Pre-Season – Jose Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that he is unsure of how the campaign will start. His fears are justified especially since a number of players are absent. This is also because of the tumultuous pre-season that Manchester United underwent.

The Premier League side toured the United States from 19th July for a 2-week period. They played against Club America, San Jose Earthquakes,

AC Milan and Liverpool. However, they only won one match so far. Said match was against AC Milan on penalties. United were subsequently thrashed 4-1 by Liverpool. Now, a clash with La Liga giants Real Madrid lies on the horizon.

During the tour, Mourinho was missing several crucial players. This included Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Marouane Fellaini. The four were unavailable due to their World Cup commitments.

So, Jose Mourinho had to venture into his youth squad and reserves. In the process, players like Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Axel Tuanzebe and Tahith Chong had a chance to prove themselves.

Mourinho has admitted that he is concerned about the campaign. This is because United have too little time to work with their first-team stars.

He said,

“We are going to start without the players that were involved in the World Cup, without proper training for them and it’s going to be hard. Honestly, I fear it a bit.”

United’s Premier League campaign kicks off against Leicester City on August 10. In the meantime, the transfer window will close a day earlier.

So far, the Red Devils have recruited Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant into their squad. Fred is a midfielder, Dalot is a defender and Grant operates as a goalkeeper.

However, Mourinho wishes to strengthen his squad further. He has admitted that he plans to sign two more players to the team. According to reports, he is on the hunt for a central defender. Leicester’s Harry Maguire and Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld are part of Mourinho’s shopping list.